John Ashton Thomas - Composer in Residence
We are delighted to announce that John Ashton Thomas (above middle - talking with Jane Cutler, Principal and Patxi Del Amo, Vice Principal) has agreed to be DaCapo's Composer in Residence.
John wrote the music for the 2010 Summer School - Street Party - which is now an important part of DaCapo's school project repertoire.
He will be writing for this year's Summer School - Around the World in 80 Ways - and for new schools' projects including an exciting sport and rhythm project for William Ellis School.
John has a large breadth of musical experience. He holds a Master's Degree in Composition from the University of London and is an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London. He has worked as a composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, pianist and teacher in the UK and USA.
Some highlights of John's career have been "Meeting Points", a ballet performed at The Place, London in 1984. "Let's Get Moving! ", for chamber ensemble and Tape, selected by the SPNM director Graham Fitkin for performance at the ICA in 1994. "Two Blake Songs" for mixed choir was performed by the London Concord Singers at St. Michael's, Bloomsbury in 1994. "Music of the early 21st century" for Alto Saxophone and electronics was recorded and performed by Martin Speake and John in 2000, and was released as a CD by Sonic Arts. "The Magic Piano" for Piano and laptop, premiered in 2003. "Music for 3 Quintets, 3 Sextets and 7 Percussion" was performed twice in 2005 at Blackheath Concert Halls.
Since 2001 he has worked on a wide range of film scores, from "Ice Age" 2&3 and "Happy Feet" to "Night at the Museum" 1&2, "How to Train your Dragon" and many others. He also writes for Universal Production Music.
